Blockchain and Rebuilding Trust

Mercer’s Healthy, Wealthy, and Work-wise report —conducted across 12 countries— examined who people trusted the most. At the high end were family, friends and employers. At the low end were financial intermediaries, banks and insurance companies. This is an issue for investment firms and the industry as a whole. After the global economic meltdown and the Great Recession, people simply stopped trusting the financial community. Many who have been burned by the industry (or know someone who has), tend to leave their money in minimal interest-bearing bank accounts, stuffed under their mattresses or buried in places far from the possible benefits of high-quality investing advice.

Cue blockchain. Blockchain technology is a game changer for the investment community and its low trust metrics. Blockchain provides investors and clients with an immutable and secure digital record of financial transactions. Investors are attracted to the prioritization of transparency after an era of intentionally confusing finance structures—such as tranches and the bundling of subprime mortgages—left the world in a tailspin. For an industry that has struggled to build trust with clients and the public, blockchain offers a new age of accountability and means of building profitable relationships.

As in other industries, clients and consumers are going online and taking control of the narrative. Businesses are being publicly held accountable for every decision and interaction. This increasing level of transparency will continue to be a compelling motivator for investment professionals and firms to provide the best services and results possible. This greater level of transparency, in truth, may be how the financial industry rebuilds lost trust with the public.